The invention relates to an apparatus for retaining a variety of relatively small, personal articles. In particular, the invention relates to a retractable article holder assembly for use in conjunction with a disposable cigarette lighter.
Cigarette lighters are used for a variety of purposes by smokers and non-smokers alike. Disposable cigarette lighters are popular because they are inexpensive, easy to use (i.e., no refilling of fuel or flint), and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Smokers typically carry the small disposable lighters on their person. Currently, there are approximately 45.8 million smokers in the United States of America between the ages of 18 and 49 (or 52% of the population in that age range). Accordingly, a large portion the U.S. population routinely carries some type of disposable lighter on their person. In regards to the non-smoking population, many people require the use of a lighter either at home or at work. For example, waiters are oftentimes required to light candles on tables or certain food dishes that are served flambxc3xa9. In addition, many workers require the use of a lighter for a variety of tasks such as welding or general construction. Typically, women carry a disposable lighter in their purses and men oftentimes carry a lighter in a trouser or shirt pocket. Unfortunately, women often have a difficult time locating a small disposable lighter when carried in a full size purse because the lighter tends to become buried among various other loose articles in the purse. In regards to men, lighters tend to fall out of trouser or shirt pockets when sitting down or bending over, respectively.
Conventional devices for securing disposable lighters include an elastic cord or non-elastic chain for securing the lighter to an article of clothing worn by an individual. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,661 to Wainscott discloses a cord attachment for locating a cigarette lighter comprising an elastic cord connected at one end to a disk secured to the bottom end of a cigarette lighter and connected at an opposite end to a clip for attachment to clothing. Nevertheless, the device described in the Wainscott patent requires a specially configured lighter as compared to an xe2x80x9coff-the-shelfxe2x80x9d disposable lighter. As is well known to those skilled in the art, small disposable and relatively inexpensive lighters have become readily available on the current market, and have thus become quite popular. Specifically, the device of Wainscott requires the operator to glue or otherwise secure a disk with an opening for receiving the elastic cord onto the bottom of the lighter.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,274 to Jacob describes a holding device for a lighter comprised of a reel mechanism contained within a housing wherein the housing includes a receiving well for seating a top portion of a disposable lighter. The device requires a hinged loop pivotally connected directly to the top of a lighter for attaching the lighter to a cord of the reel mechanism. The device described in the Jacob patent likewise requires a specially configured lighter wherein the lighter includes indentations for receiving the opposing open ends of the hinged loop.
These types of devices, as described above, require customized lighters including an attachment means for attaching the cord or chain to the lighter. Accordingly, the devices described above are not readily adaptable for use with conventional disposable lighters. Moreover, the prior art discloses holding devices, such as the receiving well of the Jacob patent, that require direct contact with or attachment to the disposable lighter. Stated differently, the devices disclosed in the prior art require a string, cord, or loop attached directly to the disposable lighter structure. Moreover, the cord or rigid loop of the patents described above tends to interfere with the lighting of a desired article.
Further, most elastic cords become stretched after prolonged use and dangle awkwardly from clothing. Thus, the user must stuff the excess cord into a pocket or purse, thereby presenting a sloppy appearance or adding to the bulkiness of a pocket or purse. In the case of chains, the excess portion allowing the user to draw the lighter to the item to be lit must likewise be placed in a pocket or purse when the lighter is not in use. Moreover, the excess portion of the chain or elastic cord is susceptible to becoming tangled in the person""s clothing, hands, or other articles carried in the pocket or purse. To resolve the difficultly noted above, the housing of the present invention in combination with the advantageously shaped article holder allows the user to easily grasp the article holder securing the lighter, extract the article holder containing the lighter from a position adjacent the housing to a remote position proximate the cigarette or article to be lit (e.g., candle), light the desired item without interference from the holder, and then retract the lighter and the article holder to a position adjacent the housing.
In addition to cigarette lighters, a majority of the population typically carries other small items such as lipstick, writing instruments, or flashlights for use at work and around the house. These various small items likewise tend to become misplaced or lost when the items become buried in a purse or briefcase or fall out of the pocket when bending over or sitting down. Advantageously, the retractable article holder assembly of the present invention, and more particularly the article holder, can be readily adapted to secure items other than the cigarette lighters (e.g., lipstick or writing instrument) such that user may readily locate the article, extract the article holder containing the article from a position adjacent the housing to, for example, the mouth in the case of lipstick, apply the lipstick without interference from the article holder assembly, and subsequently retract the article holder to a position adjacent to the housing. Advantageously, an expended or empty article, for example, a lipstick case, can be easily removed from the holder and replaced with a new lipstick case because the lipstick or similar articlexe2x80x94is not directly attached to the article holder assembly by the cord or chain.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an article holder configured to permit a user to light an item without interference from any part of the article holder assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an article holder assembly for increasing the efficiency of locating and manipulating personal articles of a relatively small size.
Another object of the invention is to enhance the safety of operating a disposable cigarette lighter in the work environment.
Yet another object of the invention is to enhance the safety of operating cigarette lighters in a household environment by providing an article holder assembly for storing lighters out of reach of children.
A further object of the invention is to provide an assembly structure for reducing the likelihood of misplacing a small article.
Yet a further object of the invention is the provision of an article holder that is detachable from a housing containing a retraction mechanism, thereby promoting the interchangeability of article holders of different sizes and shapes for use in connection with the article holder assembly.
The invention meets these objectives with a retractable article holder assembly having an article holder for securing a personal article, a support housing, a clip for fastening the housing to an object, and a fastener strap for releasably securing the article holder to the housing. As configured, the article holder is capable of being extracted from a position adjacent the housing to a remote position in the vicinity of an item to be lit without interference from various components of the article holder assembly and subsequently retracted back to the position adjacent the housing. The article holder is detachable from the assembly and includes an integral tongue positioned to permit the manipulation of an item without interference from the remainder of the assembly. Specifically, a preferred embodiment of the retractable article holder assembly is comprised of an article holder having an open top end for receiving a disposable lighter, a closed bottom end, and an integral tongue extending beyond the top portion of the article holder. The tongue defines a slot for receiving a fastener strap that secures the article holder to one end of a housing containing a spring-biased reel mechanism. A cord secured at one end to the reel mechanism and at another end to the fastener snap promotes the extraction and retraction of the article holder.
The housing is provided with a clip thereby permitting the user to releasably attach the article holder to an article of clothing or a structure such as a dashboard, workbench, or wall. An alternative embodiment of the present invention includes a housing provided with hook and loop fasteners for attachment to corresponding hook and loop fasteners on an object or to material capable of engaging hook and loop fasteners (e.g., fabric covering furniture or the interior of a car).
It will be understood that the article holder may be formed of plastic, thermoplastic, metal, or textile material. The cord may be formed of textile material or plastic. The fastener strap may be formed of a flexible loop of plastic or textile material. A means for attaching opposing ends of the fastener strap to one another, and thus securing the article holder to the housing, may be formed of a snap tab, button arrangement, or Velcro(trademark).
Advantageously, the detachable article holder allows the user to detach the article holder from the reel mechanism and replace the same with an article holder of a different size and shape, thereby allowing the operator to select a variety of items other than a disposable cigarette lighter for use in conjunction with the article holder assembly
In sum, the advantages of the invention permit the user to light a desired item without interference from the article holder and promote the interchangeability of disposable cigarette lighters used in conjunction with the article holder assembly.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention and the manner in which the same are accomplished will become clearer based on the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: